Signal.



M. F. WELGH.

SIGNAL.

APPLIOATION'PILED APR. 27, 1910.

Patented July 26, 1910.

' INVENTOR 1 \Ar 2 i Q h WITNESSES ztoreys MARION F. WELCI-I, OF HOLLIS,KANSAS.

SIGNAL.

assess.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 26, 1910.

Application filed April 27, 1910. Serial No. 557,870.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARION F. VVnLoH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hollis, in the county of Cloud and State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Signals; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in signals and moreparticularly to that class adapted to be used 1n connection with mailboxes and my ob ect is to provide means for operating the signal to setthe same when the lid for the mail box is opened and closed, and, afurther object is to provide means for indicating when there is mail inthe box to be removed by the carrier.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter referred to and moreparticularly pointed out in the specification and. claims.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application,Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mail box showing my improved signalsapplied to use thereon. Fig. 2 is a detail top plan view of the box andsignal. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the signal employed fornotifying the car rier when mail is to be removed from the box. Fig. 4is a sectional view of the bearing for the signal.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 indicates the mailbox which may be of the usual or any preferred construction used inrural districts.

The box 1 is provided with the usual form of cover 2, which is hinged tothe box and has flanges 3 around its edges which extend over the edgesof the box. Attached to the rear face of the box 1 is a bearing block 4,through which is formed a socket 5 and in said socket is adapted to takea pintle 6 of a standard 7, thereby rotatably mounting said standard onthe bearing block.

The standard 7 is preferably square in cross section and has attached toits upper end a flag or indicating plate 8, the faces of the flag beingpreferably colored, so that it may be readily seen from a distance.

The flag 8 may be turned in certain positions so that the patron canreadily ascertain when there is mail matter in the box or whether mailmatter placed in the box by the patron has been removed by the carrier.

In order to positively set the flag or signal, I provide a settingmechanism, which may be operated by the movement of the cover for thebox. To accomplish this result, an oblong loop 9, preferably formed ofspring wire, is pivoted at one end to a stud 10 on the cover 2, whilethe opposite end of the loop engages the standard 7, said standardextending between the arms 11 of the loop.

()ne of the arms 11 is bent in its length to form a shoulder 12, whichshoulder is adapted to engage one corner of the standard 7 when thecover is elevated and cause said standard to rotate a quarter turn whenthe cover is lowered. In view of the spring tension of the arms againstthe faces of the standard, said standard will be securely held in itsadjusted position until the cover is again raised and lowered.

The loop 9 is preferably formed from a single section of wire and isconstructed by first doubling the wire upon itself and coiling the loopto form an eye 13, through which the stud 10 extends, that portion ofthe arms 11 immediately in the rear of the eye 13 being wound togetherand then extended rearwardly and on opposite sides of the standard 7,the extreme outer ends of the arms being then twisted together, as shownat 14 in Fig. 2.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the flag is set so as to present its edgetoward the dwelling of the patron and in order to notify the carrierthat there is mail matter in the box to be removed, a colored tag 15 issuspended on the outer face of the box, as shown in Fig. 1, said tagbeing attached to a tongue 16, which tongue is in turn attached to aspring 17, the opposite end of the spring being secured in any manner tothe under face of the cover 2.

The tongue 16 is adapted to extend between the edge of the box and theflange 3, said tongue being provided with a vertical portion 18, asshown in Fig. 3, which will permit the cover to be readily closed and atthe same time expose the tag.

As soon as the carrier raises the cover 2, the spring 17 willimmediately move the tag inwardly so that said tag will be suspendedwithin the box when the cover is again closed. As the cover is swungupwardly, the loop 9 will be moved longitudinally until the shoulder 12passes in the rear of the standard 7 and as said shoulder engages onecorner of the standard, the downward movement of the cover will causesaid standard to rotate and thereby dispose the flag at right angles tothe position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thus indicating to the patron thatthe carrier has placed mail in the box. If, on the other hand, thecarrier has no mail for the patron and it is necessary to open the boxto remove the mail placed therein by the patron, it will be necessaryfor the carrier to raise and lower the cover twice in order to set thesignal in proper position to show to the patron that there is no mail inthe box.

In view of the simplicity of my invention, it can be very cheaplyconstructed and can be applied to any form of mail box having a swingingclosure therefor and it will likewise be seen that by constructing theparts of the device of metal, the same will be practicallyindestructible from use.

What I claim is 1. A signaling device, comprising the combination with abox having a swinging closure therefor, of a mounted on said box, a looppivoted to the cover and engaging the standard and means 011 the loopadapted to engage the standard when the cover is raised and partiallyrotate said standard when the cover is lowered.

2. A signaling device, comprising the combination with a movable cover,of a rotatably mounted standard, a loop pivoted to the cover andsurrounding said standard, said loop having a shoulder adapted to engagethe standard when the cover is raised and partially rotate the standardwhen the cover is closed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARION F. WELCH. lVitnesses W. H. L. PEPPERELL, E. E.- FAUNOE.

standard rotatably

